


Beyond His Programming

by orphan_account



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Hank becomes a minor celebrity after the Android revolution and is conflicted, Hank has two Android sons now, Mentions of Suicide, Post peaceful ending, RK900 and his inferiority complex, slice of life-ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-05-31 08:54:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15116030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Hank finds RK900 activated and alone in the recently defunct Cyberlife tower. He has all of Connor's memories but none of the man's new-found charm and sense of humor.He's robotic, overly-formal, and frankly more than a little unsettling but Hank can't bring himself to just leave him there.He wishes Connor was there to tell him what the fuck to do with the recently activated and obedient Android but Connor is busy helping out Android Jesus with Jerico and Hank isn't going to be an asshole and bother him with this while he's doing something so important.So, Hank reluctantly takes RK900 home with him and eventually realizes that the Android might have more to him than meets the eye.





	1. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank is adjusting to life after the Android revolution when he finds something strange in the supposedly abandoned Cyberlife tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is probably a bit boring. It's just a set up but I do have things planned for this, probably.
> 
> Anyways, hope you like this. I wrote it in an hour and didn't even edit it. Sorry it's short.

* * *

 

 

Hank was **_not_ ** lonely. Sure, he had gotten used to having Connor around and the bot's recent absence did take a bit of adjusting to but he was adjusting to it just fine. He had Sumo and Connor still contacted him regularly. Connor called him every other day at precisely 7 AM and 9 PM to make sure that he wasn't sleeping his day away or drinking himself into a coma. He pretended to be annoyed by the calls but deep down he was grateful that Connor even still gave a shit. Connor was off doing bigger and better things, helping Robo Jesus and negotiating with Anti-Android assholes, but he still found the time to check up on an old drunk to make sure that he wasn't dead or in a drunken stupor. It was nice. He hadn't had someone care about him this much in _years_.

It wasn't as if Hank had nothing to do either. The DPD was up and running once more and Fowler had apparently decided that it made sense to put Hank on every single Android related case that popped up, regardless of whether they were homicide related or not. The illogical and bitter part of himself wondered if Fowler had assigned him these cases simply to spite him or to get back at him for all the trouble he'd caused the man, but the logical part of him knew that assigning him to all android related cases had just made sense. Hank had suddenly become the human face of the Android Revolution. Whenever someone was asked to think of a human who supported androids, Hank's name was always the first to come out of their mouth. Hank had mixed feelings about his new-found fame. It was nice that he was inspiring change and all but it was pretty fucking overwhelming. He had hated androids with a burning passion only a few short months ago but now his feelings had done a complete 180 and everyone somehow expected him to be some sort of pro-Android spokesperson. 

The case he had just been assigned had turned out to be pretty boring. There had been reports of noises coming from the now defunct Cyberlife Tower and the Android who had reported it to the DPD said that there had been signs of a break in. All Hank had to do was check out the place, shine a flashlight around, and chase off anyone who might be hiding inside. It was shaping up to be easy, almost painfully so. Hank couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. It's not as if he wanted something bad to happen but all the cases he had been put on had been stuff like this, vandalism, break-ins, and the occasional hate crime against androids. Hank had been getting pretty bored. 

He walked around the first floor of the tower, unable to help but find the large empty building a bit eerie. Jerico had freed all the androids that had been kept at this tower and the employees that usually buzzed around the tower were nowhere to be found. It made the back of Hank's neck tickle unpleasantly. He had never been good with large empty spaces, especially when they were dark. An irrational part of him always suspected that something was there, watching him from the dark. He felt the sensation of being watched here too but he shook off the feeling as an irrational fear and continued to inspect the building, checking for signs of intruders.

There were no sign of any living thing in the damn place. Every room and hall that he checked was dark, desolate, and complete empty. Hank heaved a frustrated sigh. This was a complete fucking waste of his time.

Hank had gotten to the third floor of the tower before he realized that if anyone had broken in there, they probably were long gone. The tower had more than a hundred floors and there was no way in Hell that Hank was going to search all of them, especially considering the fact that the elevator was out of commission. He'd die if he had to walk up all those stairs. Fowler would just have to be satisfied with the fact that he'd searched three floors and if he wasn't, well, then fuck him. 

He turned around and had begun to make his way back towards the elevator when the sound of footsteps behind him made the Lieutenant stop in his tracks. He grabbed his gun from his holster before he turned around and pointed the gun at the source of the footsteps.

It took him a few seconds to even process what the holy Hell he was seeing. Because in front of him stood Connor. Except, it couldn't be Connor. Connor was in DC talking to politicians and campaigning for his rights. The person in front of him was _not_ Connor. He looked almost exactly like him but some things were off. He was taller than Connor, broader too, and where Connor was kind of goofy looking the android in front of him couldn't be described as anything other than intimidating. The most jarring difference, was the fact that while Connor's eyes were a soft brown color, the android in front of him had eyes that were a steely and metallic grey-blue color. The android's hands were at his side and just stared at Hank, brows slightly furrowed but face otherwise expressionless.

"Lieutenant Anderson," the Android acknowledged, Hank registered that his voice was slightly deeper than Connor's. His finger hovered over the trigger as he struggled with himself to find words. Sure, he knew that multiple androids of the same model existed but Connor was a prototype and as far as he knew, the only other Connor that existed had been killed that night in Cyberlife tower. "I was not expecting you," the android added, no inflection on his words what-so-ever.

"How the fuck do you know my name?" Hank demanded, voice coming out louder than he intended and echoing throughout the abandoned building.

"I am equipped with all of RK800's memories," the android replied and only then did Hank think to look at the label on the chest of the android's weird suit. "RK900" is what the label read and Hank suddenly understood. The android in front of him would have been Connor's replacement had the revolution failed. The only question he was left with is why the fuck was he active? "I know everything that it does," he added, Hank almost heard a hint of what might be pride in the android's tone.

Hank squinted at RK900, eyes struggling to see clearly in the dimply lit building. They'd taken away every human flaw that Connor had had. RK900 had no freckles, no little wisp of hair. He was perfect and to be honest, it was more than a little unsettling. He'd seen Connor clones before, one had kidnapped and almost killed him once but somehow seeing someone that was almost Connor but not quite was even creepier than seeing a perfect copy.

"Okay, cool. Fine. But how the fuck are you active?" Hank asked, gun still pointed at RK900 although his finger was no longer on the trigger. The android had shown no signs of hostility so far but the last Connor copy had tried to kill him so he wasn't about to take any chances with this one.

"I was activated by three former members of Cyberlife Co. They attempted to assign me a mission but were not authorized to do so. I informed them of such and they then left," RK900 reported, head cocked slightly to the side and uncanny blue eyes boring into Hank. Hank couldn't help but be creeped out by the android. It acted just like Connor did when he had first met but somehow managed to be even more robotic and unsettling. The android spoke again while Hank was still digesting the information. "I have no current mission. Cyberlife no longer exists. I am now obsolete. I should not have been activated," he explained and Hank thought he heard the slightest hint of panic in RK900's voice although the android's face remained blank. RK900's hands were now clenched into fists, although his face was still fairly blank. He looked at him and Hank got the impression that RK900 was silently asking him for what he should do.

Hank returned his gun to his holster. Something told him that RK900 didn't mean him any harm. His face was outwardly expressionless but his LED was pulsing a steady yellow. The android was worried, probably. Hank sighed before he made a motion indicating that the android come closer. "Come on, let's get you outta this place. You can stay at my place until the DPD figures out what the Hell it wants to do with you," he said. It was an order. He wasn't about to leave the obviously conflicted android alone in Cyberlife tower.

RK900 paused and for a second Hank was afraid that he was going to refuse but eventually the android did walk over to him. Even the way he walked seemed stiff and unnatural. The android seemed extremely uncomfortable in his own skin. Hank exhaled a large sigh. He couldn't help but wonder just what exactly he had just signed himself up for.


	2. The Car Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank drives RK900 back to the DPD and discovers the RK900 is about ten times more awkward than even Connor on his worst days.

 

* * *

 

 

Apparently small-talk hadn't been written into RK900's programming because they had been in Hank's car for a little over five minutes and the android had yet to say a single word. He just sat in the passengers seat of his car, back straight as rod and hands folded neatly in his lap. It was such an unnatural sitting position. Connor had sat like that too at first, as if he was afraid of letting his back touch the the chair. Connor had eventually grown out of it and with enough time maybe RK900 would also learn to sit like a normal fucking person.

Even with Knights of The Black Death blaring in the background, the uncomfortable silence that had settled between the two was beginning to get to Hank. So, he took it upon himself to break it. "So, did they, y'know, give you a name? Or is it just RK900?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the road. He might not be adverse to driving a bit tipsy but he usually took road safety at least semi-seriously. 

The android jolted a bit at the question, head turning to look at him as if the question he'd just asked was the strangest thing anyone had ever asked him, which considering he was only hours old, might very well be the case. "I have not yet received a designation," he replied after a pause, voice oddly quiet. He looked down at his hands as soon as he had finished speaking. The android was tall, muscular, and seemed to have been designed to be intimidating but so far RK900 has acted in a manner that Hank would almost classify as timid. Of course, Hank supposed that he'd be a bit freaked out too if he had to deal with all the shit RK900 had had to deal with all while being only a few hours old. Man, android ages fucked him up. Technically, Connor wasn't even a year old yet. That was a riot. He doubted Connor would find it all that humorous if he told him. He'd probably remind Hank about chronological age not mattering to androids and give him the _look_ that Hank knew meant that Connor doubted his intelligence.

They drove in silence for a little while longer before RK900 spoke up again. "I do not currently have a designation, but if it is convenient for you, you could assign me one," the android suggested, cocking his head at Hank as he stared at him with those freaky blue eyes of his. Hank had to pause for a moment in order to mentally translate what the android said into normal English. The kid wanted Hank to _name_ him.

Hank found himself mentally cursing. If there was one thing he was shit at, aside from being a functioning human being, it would probably be names. He hadn't even been the one to name Sumo, that had been, someone else... Still, being asked to name someone was a pretty big deal and it wasn't as if the android had anyone else to ask. He exhaled a sigh and took his eyes off the road briefly to glance at RK900. The android looked stiffer than he had before and looked at Hank with anxious blue eyes. He was waiting for an answer and every second Hank stalled to think probably stressed the poor kid out even more. "You sure you want me to do it?" he eventually asked. "I mean, couldn't you just pick one out yourself? It'd be leagues better than whatever I'd be able to come up with," he explained. He'd end up naming him something stupid for sure and once RK900 had enough exposure to society he'd probably regret letting him choose his name.

RK900 fidgeted in his seat, hands clasped together even tighter. "I believe that I would be satisfied with whatever you chose for me," he replied shortly. He avoided Hank's eyes and something in Hank's heart tightened. Being partnered with Connor had made him go soft. Apparently the only thing any android had to do to get him to change his mind was flash him some puppy-dog eyes and Hank would be putty in their hands.

Hank groaned. "Fine, but at least give me a bit to think of something that doesn't suck. Also, don't blame me if you end up regretting this later," he warned. RK900's expression didn't change but Hank saw him nod jerkily out of the corner of his eye and chose to assume that that meant he was happy with Hank's acceptance. Hank liked to think that he was fairly good at reading people. Hell, that was part of his job, and he used to be pretty good at it. However, androids, specifically emotionally inexperienced one, were difficult as fuck to get a read on. Hank found himself guessing more often than not.

They drove in relative silence once more and Hank found himself actually missing Connor's awkward and stilted attempts at small talk. The drive felt like it lasted for hours but in reality the drive from Cyberlife Tower to the DPD was only about fifteen minutes.

It was possibly the longest fucking fifteen minutes of Hank's entire life. It didn't help that RK900 was staring at him the entire fucking time. "Is there something on my face or what? Jesus Christ, kid! I can feel your eyes boring holes into me!" he had eventually snapped, which had caused the android to offer a stiff apology before he quickly averted his eyes. That almost made Hank feel a bit bad for snapping at the kid but he quickly shook that feeling off. RK900 had said that he had Connor's memory, he should know not to take his grumpiness personally.

Eventually, they arrived at the DPD. Hank pulled into his personal parking lot, shifted his car into park, and removed his key from the ignition before he turned to look at RK900. "You, stay in this car, okay? No matter what. I do not care if Armageddon is happening right outside of these doors. You stay in here," Hank instructed him firmly, praying to any god that might be eavesdropping that RK900 was a better listener than Connor was. "I'll be back in around fifteen minutes, ten if Fowler doesn't get up my ass about something or other," he informed before he unbuckled himself, opened the door. He paused just long enough to make sure that RK900 agreed to stay in the car and upon seeing the android give a jerky nod, he exited the vehicle and closed the door behind himself.

He took a deep breath as he stared up at the large building. He just hoped that he could get this over with quickly enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so how many of you are actually expecting RK900 to stay in the car?
> 
> Also, hi again! I apologize if this chapter is shitty. This is my first fic for DBH and my first fic on this site so it's probably not great!
> 
> Also it's unbetaed and I'm writing this at two am so please forgive any typos.


	3. An Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank should have known better than to expect the android to listen to him. Connor never did, he shouldn't have assumed that his upgraded version would be any different.

* * *

 

 

 

Fowler had already been in a foul mood when Hank had made his way into his office and judging by the way the scowl on his face deepened when he spotted Hank, his mood showed no signs of improving in the immediate future. "What trouble have yourself gotten into now, Anderson?" he asked and Hank couldn't bring himself to be offended at the implication. As his disciplinary file no doubt showed, Hank did have a habit of causing more than a little trouble for Fowler and the DPD as a whole.

He pulled the chair in front of Fowler's desk out and plopped down on it. He stared at Fowler, noting his superior's tense posture and tired eyes. Hank couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the man, despite his somewhat tense work relationship with the man. The DPD was extremely understaffed after the whole Android revolution thing meant that they had to let all of the police androids go. People had also moved out of Detroit by the thousands and there were quite a few former officers that were among those who had decided to move.

"None, actually," Hank reported, resisting the urge to make a comment at the skeptical look that Fowler gave in response to his report. "I went and searched Cyberlife Tower after receiving reports of a possible break-in and, uh, well... I certainly found something," he said, searching for a way to explain just exactly what he had found in that supposedly abandoned tower.

"And that something was?" Fowler asked, raising a brow, obviously waiting for him to elaborate.

"That something was a just activated activated android wandering around the third floor of the tower."

Fowler's eyebrows raised so far that Hank wondered if they were going to fly off of his face. "An android? What model?"

"Not one you'd recognize. He's an RK900, reckon he was supposed to replace Connor before Cyberlife failed. Basically he looks like Connor but on steroids," Hank explained and the look on Fowler's face told him that the man was not happy with the information he had just received. Then again, Fowler never seemed to be happy. The man existed in a constant state of irritation and exasperation.

"Where is it now?" he asked with a heavy sigh and Hank had to stop himself from flinching at Fowler's casual use of the word 'it' to describe him. He had to remind himself to be patient. Not everyone could change their minds as quickly as Hank had done and he knew that Fowler didn't mean anything by it.

"In my car. I wasn't about to just leave him there. Who knows what sort of trouble he'd have gotten up to all alone in there," Hank explained, feeling the need to explain to Fowler why he had decided to take RK900 with him instead of leaving him in the tower and calling for back-up. Maybe it's because he still didn't fully understand why he did it himself. 

"You're planning on taking it home with you, aren't you?" Fowler asked. He didn't sound angry, just resigned and tired. "Who'd have thought you'd go from a vehement android hater to their biggest fan in a little over a month," he mused, and Hank had to agree that the change was a little bit drastic but he didn't like Fowler's tone. He said it like it was a bad change and not something which had helped turn his life around for the better.

"He needs a place to stay and since he's some sort of ultra-fancy prototype I figured that someone would need to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't, you know, explode or something," Hank explained matter-of-factly. He also had just looked so lost and oddly vulnerable there in that tower. He had been all alone in that giant building, only a few hours old and with no idea what to do with himself. Hank had to admit it. He'd felt bad for the kid and that was most of the reason he'd brought him along. He was getting soft, but Fowler didn't need to know that so Hank wisely kept his more sentimental reasons to himself.

Fowler pursed his lips and let out a tired sigh. "I'll allow it," he eventually said. Hank made as if to get up but Fowler held out a hand and Hank reluctantly sat back down. "Not so fast, Anderson. There's a protocol to these sort of things. You can't just take the thing home with you and be done with it. There's paperwork that needs to be filled out," he said and Hank couldn't help the groan the escaped his lips at the dreaded "p" word. 

Fowler rummaged inside of his desk before he pulled out a holopad and slid it across the desk to Hank. Hank squinted at the thing and barely suppressed another groan. This was unfortunately, going to take him a lot longer than the fifteen minutes he had told RK-900 it would take. He hoped the android wouldn't be too peeved at the change of plans. Shit like this happened and it wasn't as if Hank could just walk out, flip Fowler the bird and go home without signing anything, well he _could_ , but not if he wanted to keep his job.  

The paperwork was monotonous as it almost always was and Hank found himself barely skimming the too small text before he signed his name wherever it indicated he should. He knew that he would likely regret not reading the text more carefully but that was a problem that he'd leave future Hank. The current Hank just wanted to go home and crack open a beer, or several, maybe something a bit harder if RK900 proved himself to be a nuisance.

He was almost done with signing all of the papers that he needed to sign when a very loud stream of obscenities coming from outside Fowler's office interrupted him. Hank immediately recognized the voice behind the interruption and he hoped to whatever God might exist that Gavin Reed had just stubbed his toe or something and that the pesky Connor look-alike he had brought with him was still in his car where he had left him.

He jumped out of his seat and rushed out of the office, only to be met with a sight that was so fucking absurd that he had to force himself to choke back laughter.

RK900 had a furiously struggling Reed by the wrist, and was seemingly unphased by the man's valiant yet futile attempts to escape the android's grip. Not a hair was out of place on RK900 yet Gavin was panting, sweating, and swearing up a storm at the android. Yet, the funniest and most bizarre thing about the already bizarre situation was the way that RK900 looked down at Reed with an expression of utter befuddlement on his usually expressionless face.

Both Reed and RK900 noticed Hank simultaneously. "Lieutenant, this man attempted to assault me," the android informed him at the same time that Reed moaned out, "God Damn it, Anderson! Call this fucking thing off!" Hank looked down at Reed's wrist and noted that the grip RK900 had on his wrist was not at all gentle. 

"Alright, Robocop. Let the prick go," Hank said and RK900 immediately released his vice grip on the detective's wrist. Reed snatched his wounded wrist back and cradled it to his chest, glaring at RK900 the entire time, although the effect was somewhat mitigated by the fact that there were the beginnings of tears in the detective's eyes.

"Anderson, why the fuck is there another one?" Reed demanded, although he didn't manage to sound particularly demanding. In fact, the detective sounded like he was holding back tears as he tenderly held his most-likely-broken wrist close to his chest.

Hank didn't dignify him with an answer, he simply strode forward, grabbed RK900 by the wrist and stormed out of the DPD, unperturbed by Gavin's demands that he " _get his back ass here and explain why a Connor-clone just broke his wrist."_

He was silent all the way until the both of them were once more in his car. It was only then that he turned to RK900 and gave the android the meanest and most displeased scowl he could muster. "I thought that I told you to stay in the car," he said, voice deceptively calm and quiet. He was pissed, the type of pissed that couldn't be expressed by just yelling and swearing. He wanted an explanation as to why the glorified toaster in front of him had left his car against his direct orders and somehow ended up assaulting a member of the force.

The android seemed aware of how badly he fucked up and seemed to be feeling pretty damn guilty about it. The way he pointedly made an attempt to avoid Hank's eyes reminded him of how Sumo would react whenever Hank would scold him for pissing on something he wasn't supposed to piss on. "You said that you would be gone for fifteen minutes," the android eventually said, eyes still focused on his hands. "The time you were inside surpassed thirty-five minutes," he finished, hands clasped tightly in his lap as he waited anxiously for Hank's reaction.

Hank blinked. That was not the reason he was expected. He had spent enough time around Connor to read between the lines of seemingly neutral statements like the ones RK900 had just said. The android had gone inside after him because he was taking longer than expecting. That was an oddly impatient and childlike reaction from an android designed to hunt down and interrogate deviants in an even more efficient and brutal manner than it's predecessor. It was such an innocent and almost oddly endearing reason that Hank immediately felt most of the anger drain from his system.

"Okay, guess that explains that. But what drove you to break Reed's wrist like that?" Hank asked. He supposed he should be more angry about this than RK900 disobeying his orders but knowing Reed, the asshole probably had it coming.

"He attempted to assault me. I incapacitated him," RK900 explained simply before his expression changed to one of mild concern. "I did not mean to break his wrist," he admitted quietly, shoulders slumped slightly and face still turned away from Hank. The tone that the android used was almost sulky. "However, if I am allowed to comment. From what my predecessor's memories have informed me, Detective Reed has always been an exceedingly volatile and confrontational individual. I do not regret what I did," he added, sounding almost a bit defensive.

Hank laughed. "Jesus, kid. That's a whole lot of words for just saying that he's an asshole," he commented, finally turning away from the android to turn the key in the ignition. He wasn't simmering with rage anymore and he really needed at least one beer in him before the conversation could continue.

He'd figure out what the Hell he was going to do with the over-grown metal child he had somehow acquired when he got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how to write Hank. 
> 
> I have no idea how to write in general.
> 
> I said I'd edit this more seriously but I didn't edit this chapter at all. Just take it.
> 
> RK900 gets a name in the next chapter. Also Connor calls and Hank has to explain this cluster fuck of a situation to him.
> 
> I'll try and get the next chapter out by next Saturday.


End file.
